Thursday, February 13, 2020 / by Jordana Tobel
Florida Vacation Home Rentals: Big Impact & Getting Bigger
Guess how much Florida vacation home rentals contribute to the state economy?
“Floridians have long-known that the state’s vacation rental industry has a significant impact on our economy, but the numbers in this report are simply staggering,” says Florida Realtors president Barry Grooms, a Realtor and co-owner of Sarabay Suncoast Realty Inc. in Bradenton. “More than $27 billion a year is a substantial contribution to our economy, and the 115,000 jobs it supports are critical to the well-being of many of our communities.”
Florida’s tourism industry is growing faster than the U.S. economy. The state has experienced 8 consecutive years of record-breaking visitation numbers, however there is a discrepancy between the occupancy rates of hotels and motels and the number of visitors. This indicates that tourists are seeking alternative forms of lodging and often choose vacation rental homes (defined as short-term rentals for less than 30 days at a time.)
The South Florida tri-county area, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade, represents 38% of the income in 2018, with the top 3 reasons for travel being vacation, beach or water activities, and visiting friends and family. According to the survey done the University of Central Florida, visitors prefer homes rather than hotels because of price and value, location, and privacy and freedom.
Sources:
https://therealdeal.com/miami/2019/01/15/south-florida-airbnb-hosts-made-315-million-in-2018/
https://www.floridarealtors.org/news-media/news-articles/2020/02/flas-vacation-home-rentals-contribute-274b-economy
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/dickpope-pubs/80/